Order Creation

The transport order (also: shipment) is the central entity in X4fleet. It describes what is to be picked up and delivered, when and where. This chapter describes the manual entry of a new order in the web interface and explains all relevant fields, functions and processes.

1. Creating a New Order

Navigation

A new order is created via the Orders overview. The «New Order» button opens an entry form (dialog window / WinBox).

Mandatory Fields

The following fields must be filled in as a minimum so that an order can be saved and released:

Note: Depending on the tenant's system configuration, additional fields may be defined as mandatory, e.g. client, trip number or time window.

Optional Fields

All other fields are optional but provide the dispatcher with important planning information:

Note on the field Subcontractor: The field is displayed if the order is already assigned to a subcontractor, or if the module Master subcontractor is active for the group and Shipment sharing enabled is switched on (not for skip orders). See Settings › Subcontractors and Subcontractor Relationships. The subcontractor can only be changed as long as the order is not allocated to a tour. As soon as the order is planned, the field is greyed out and a change is no longer possible. The field is not displayed to the subcontractor's own users.

2. From/To Points (Pickup Location and Delivery Location)

What Is a «Location»?

A location (also: POI – Point of Interest) is a place in X4fleet with a stored address and GPS coordinates. It is the basis for tour planning and route calculation. Locations can be master data (permanently stored) or entered temporarily for this order only.

Pickup Location (From Point)

The pickup location defines where the goods are loaded. The following details can be entered:

Delivery Location (To Point)

The delivery location defines where the goods are delivered. The fields are analogous to the pickup location. In addition:

Searching or Creating a Location

When entering a location, the existing master data is searched first. If a location is found and selected, all stored data (address, coordinates, notes, opening hours etc.) is adopted automatically. If no matching location is found, a new address can be entered directly in the form. The system geocodes the address automatically.

Important: GPS coordinates must be present for tour planning and route calculation. Without valid coordinates, an order cannot be released.

3. Order Times and Time Windows

Planned Tour Date

The Planned Tour Date (Shipment.DatePickup) specifies on which day the transport is to take place. It is the primary planning date for the dispatcher.

Time Windows

In addition to the tour date, time windows can be stored for pickup and delivery. These specify to the driver and dispatcher the period within which the pickup or delivery must take place.

Possible Time Window Combinations

Tip: Precise time windows considerably improve the quality of tour planning. The more accurate the time specifications, the more realistic the planned route.

Dwell Times

In addition to the time windows, the expected dwell times (loading and unloading times) can be entered:

These values feed into tour planning and influence the tour times.

4. Specialities, Vehicle Qualifications and Loading Aids

These three areas define special requirements for the transport. They must be preconfigured in the system backend.

Specialities

Specialities (Shipment.Special) describe special properties of the shipment or the transport process, e.g.:

• Dangerous goods
• Refrigeration requirement
• Fragile goods
• Express shipment

Specialities are displayed as checkboxes in the order and can be selected multiple times. They are purely informative or can be used as a filter criterion for dispatching. Specialities can be stored both at order level and specifically for the From point or To point.

Vehicle Qualifications

Vehicle qualifications (Shipment.Qualifications) define which vehicle properties are required for this transport, e.g.:

• Tail lift
• Refrigerated vehicle
• Special body (e.g. silo, tanker)
• Minimum loading capacity

The qualifications are matched against the vehicle master data during dispatching. Vehicles that do not meet the requirements are marked as unsuitable.

Loading Aids

Loading aids describe equipment required during loading or unloading, e.g.:

• Pallet truck
• Forklift
• Hand truck
• Special lashing straps

Loading aids can be entered at order level as well as separately for pickup (DropoffLoadingSupports) and delivery. The loading aid surcharge (Shipment.LoadingToolValue) can also be stored in the system.

Note: Which specialities, qualifications and loading aids are available is configurable per tenant.

5. Article Items (Shipment Items)

Overview

An order can contain one or more article items (products, services or load carriers). The items describe in detail what is being transported.

Fields of an Order Item

Article Types

Dimension Fields at Order Level

The total quantities (weight, volume, pallets) are calculated automatically from the items and summarised at order level:

Note: The gross fields at order level can also be overridden manually if the item details are not known.

6. Further Functions Within an Order

Create Next Order (Batch Entry)

With the «Create Next Order» function (Shipment.BatchCreation), a new order can be opened immediately after saving an order. This facilitates the quick entry of several orders in succession.

Copy Order

Existing orders can be duplicated. All fields of the original are adopted and can be adjusted. This function is useful when similar orders have to be entered regularly.

Load Template

Via «Select Template» (Action.OrderTemplate.Choose), an order can be prefilled based on a saved order template. Templates contain predefined fields and items.

Release Order

A saved order is initially in the status «In Progress». Upon release it changes to the status «Released» and becomes available to the dispatcher for tour planning. Before release, the system checks:

• Are the pickup location and delivery location present with valid coordinates?
• Is a tour date set?
• Are all tenant-specific mandatory fields filled in?

Delivery Note

For a completed order, a delivery note (Shipment.DropoffDeliveryNotes) can be generated and sent by email. The recipient email addresses can be stored directly in the order under Shipment.DeliveryNoteMails.

Advising

Advising makes it possible to inform the customer (recipient) about the planned arrival time. The time of the advising is recorded in the system (PickupAdvisingSetTime, DropoffAdvisingSetTime).

Shipment Split

Orders can be split:

• Quantity split: The shipment quantity is split across several partial shipments.
• Route split: The shipment is split across different routes/stops.

Split shipments retain a parent-child relationship and are recognisable in the system as belonging together.

7. Order Templates and Recurring Orders

Order Template

An order template is a saved order that serves as the basis for new orders. Templates are suitable for transport orders that are entered regularly with similar data.

Create Template

In the order dialog there is the option to save the current order as a template:

• Template name (mandatory field)
• Notes on the template
• Private (OrderTemplate.IsPrivate): Template is visible only to the creator
• Template for recurring orders (OrderTemplate.IsRecurringOrderTemplate): Marks the template as a basis for recurring orders

Templates can be managed under Settings > Order Templates.

Recurring Order

A recurring order is a configuration that automatically or manually generates recurring transport orders from an order template. Recurring orders are ideal for daily, weekly or interval-based routes.

Navigation

Recurring orders are managed under Settings > Recurring Orders.

Fields of the Recurring Order

Generate Orders

Recurring orders can be:

• Automatically generated (the system creates the orders in advance, configurable via «Days before automatic generation»).
• Manually generated via «Generate Selected Recurring Order» or «Generate Recurring Orders».

Note: The generated orders are created in the status «In Progress» or directly «Released», depending on the system configuration.

8. Order Status

A transport order passes through various statuses during its lifecycle:

Shipment Status (Dispatch Status)

Billing Status (Fiscal Status)

When the invoicing module is active, each order additionally has a billing status:

Editing Rules by Status

Depending on the configuration, the system prevents changes or deletions once an order has reached a certain status:

9. Order Search

Orders Overview

The Orders overview shows all orders in tabular form. The displayed list can be filtered and sorted by various criteria.

Filter Options

The following fields are typically available as search filters:

Search Results

The search results show the configured columns of the Orders overview. These can be adjusted per user or globally. Clicking on a shipment opens the detail dialog.

Export Function

The filtered orders can be exported as an Excel file in order to process them further outside X4fleet.

10. Summary: Process of a Typical Order Entry

1. Open new order
   └─ Click «New Order»

2. Enter basic data
   ├─ Set planned tour date
   ├─ Select client (optional, but recommended)
   └─ Enter external reference (optional)

3. Enter From point (pickup location)
   ├─ Search and select an existing location, or
   ├─ Enter a new address (geocoded automatically)
   ├─ Set time window (from / until)
   └─ Enter pickup notes (optional)

4. Enter To point (delivery location)
   ├─ Search and select an existing location, or
   ├─ Enter a new address
   ├─ Set time window (from / until)
   └─ Enter delivery notes (optional)

5. Enter article items
   ├─ Select article from master data or enter a new one
   ├─ Set quantity and unit
   └─ Enter weight / volume / pallets (optional, if known)

6. Set specialities / qualifications / loading aids (optional)

7. Save
   └─ Order is saved in the status «In Progress»

8. Release
   └─ Order changes to status «Released»
      → Available to the dispatcher for tour planning